Today I stepped away from my Semantic HTML mission and started to look back at source control.
I’ve used Git before, with previous projects stored on Gitlab and Github. I’ve merged branches, stashed files and all manner of source control related things – but not for a little while now.
Learning Git (& Github)
I’d already purchased the Git & Github Bootcamp by Colt Steele on Udemy, but I’d not yet got started with it.
Today I made the start, and I have to say I’m very impressed so far.
I brushed up on my command line abilities and I was writing out my git commands before long.
Colt also covers some of the history and theory behind Git and source control, which has also helped me to get a much firmer grasp of it all in my mind.
I completed a few sections but stopped short of the detailed look at commits, jumping ahead to the Github section to be able to start capturing my work there.
Practising Git
Going into this area of tooling/workflow, I wasn’t 100% sure how I’d be able to practice things.
Fortunately, Colt has some good exercises in each section to get you typing the commands you’ve just been shown.
I took this same approach and started another course – 50 projects in 50 days by Brad Traversy, also on Udemy.
The plan here was to complete a little of this code-along course each day to just get more time spent writing code again, but it’s also now become part of my Git practice for the same reason.
Staying clear of VS Codes Git GUI, I shall be writing my Git commands manually for the duration of the 50 projects course, in order to get back some muscle memory.
I will continue to learn more of the other Git commands and also start to factor them into the process for the sake of practice.
Accelerated learning
This is an area I’d started reading in to, hoping to find a more robust approach for getting more out of my personal development efforts.
Learning about a subject (Frontend Development) from a number of angles (different languages/concepts) and in a number of formats (books, courses, deliberate practice) has been shown to be a method that allows a much better understanding to be attained.
I’m sure that’s because there are more connections being made in your brain due to the variety of sources and the connections between them – something like that!
So far, it feels like this approach is working. I’m not doing anything that I’ve not already done in the past – I’ve done this sort of work for years.
This is the first time that I’ve felt this confident about actually learning more. Getting that deeper understanding of how things are connected.
I’m hopeful that a lot of this is down to having spent the last few years focusing on UX Design and deliberately seeking out the underlying connections that are there.
Time will tell, but right now – everything feels good!